Editors Pick: Buhay Canada, ramdam ang ginhawa o feeling ko lang?

I’m back! After a few months of no update on my blogs, no immigration updates either, you might have thought I left for good. The truth is, I just had to find myself for a bit. I tried to just be in the background and I’ve also tried other things but nothing else seems to work out. One thing surprised me though, a Facebook group I started for all Pinoys to just hangout and converse lightly on line became a hit! The #1 Tamabayan Facebook group was created to give Pinoys abroad an outlet for good ol’ plain fun which turned out what everybody needed. Click here to JOIN.

To start with, let me try to share you all the feels or just the truth of the life here in Canada.

1. Education is free in Canada.

From grade school up to high school, education is free in Canada. All you have to prepare for is College or University because it is truly a sizeable amount just for the tuition fee alone. If in the case that your parents did not set up a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for you, you can avail of a student loan with a very low interest rate. You only pay for your student loan after you have finished your program. There really is no reason for being uneducated here. In fact, Canada is one of the countries with the highest literacy level in the world.

However, it is difficult to say that a person is smart based on their educational attainment because the true smart people are those who knows how to make real good friends. Boom!

2. Children up to 18 years old receive allowance from the government of Canada.

A lot of married couples is excited about this. There are those who actually seem to make this into a business of baby making. Financial advisors will advise you to just create an RESP for your children and put their allowance in there so that the children will not have debts before they are able to work and earn for themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to have debts in Canada (#UtangisLife) as long as you pay them. Sa Canada ang utang ay binabayaran, hindi kinakalimutan.

3. There is Universal Health Care in Canada.

Canada has a universal, publicly funded health-care system. It provides relatively equitable access to physician and hospital services. However, it does not cover prescription drugs, home care or long-term care or dental care, which means most rely on private insurance which you have to pay premium for. Because it is free, there is always a long waiting time for urgent care. If you need to see a doctor for a check-up, you will have to schedule ahead of time. Sometimes, you’ll do a walk-in visit to the doctor, you already feel better before you even get to see the doctor. Peace! It’s free anyway!

There are times that I get bashed I go to the doctor get checked for FREE!

4. It’s fairly easy to afford a house and vehicle in Canada.

It is true because you see a lot of posts about this. You get to see your friends/relatives feeling blessed in photos next to a new house or vehicle. However, the truth is it is easy to get a loan for a house or vehicle in Canada. Yes, there are those who can easily afford them but most of the time they are through property loans because a house and a vehicle can sometimes be a necessity depending where you live here.

A simple life with the right amount of contentment is the real goal here. No need to act and look rich if you’ll just be buried deep in debts.

5. You can have multiple jobs in Canada.

This is very common with Pinoys because we are generally hadrworking. If you are earning minimum here, you’ll probably be living paycheck to paycheck. So, if you aim to save up and be able to send money to families back home, you’ll need a part-time job or another full-time job. However, there are those who have a lot of debts to pay so they need to work multiple jobs.

There are those who are truly hardworking that they get worked up at their jobs and they also work up to their co-workers, if you know what I mean. *wink*

In most cases, wages in Canada are higher than other countries. Nevertheless, taxes here are also high so you will get deductions in a relatively similar rate. The good thing is, you can clearly see where your taxes go: Public infrastructures, education, healthcare, security services and more.

Be aware when you buy good in Canada though because taxes are not inclusive in the advertised prices. Depending on the province or territories, expect the taxes to be added right before you pay. So basically, you pay more than the advertised prices.

7. Retired elderly people receive monthly pension from the Government of Canada.

Gone were the days that when you bring your retired parents to Canada, they can receive pension right away even without working history in Canada. Now, in order to qualify, the elderly person must be at least 65 years old, Canadian citizen or legal resident, who have been living in Canada for at least 10 years.

8. You still receive pay when you get laid off from work or off for maternity in Canada.

This is partially true. For expecting mothers, they should have worked the required minimum working hours before they qualify for the maternity allowance when they go on maternity leave. Take note, the allowance receivable is not fixed and is based on your salary contribution. The same goes for those who got laid off from work. No matter what the case is, this is still better than nothing, right?

9. You can buy anything you want in Canada.

This is somewhat true depending on your income. However, you can borrow money to be able to afford everything you want in Canada. There’s a lot of temptations here because you can easily get a credit card. You always have to ask yourself before you buy if it is a “need” or a “want.” I, myself, is bad at this because I don’t have the discipline to control my spending. I just remember reading from somewhere that even sale items are expensive because you tend to buy them due to the price but you don’t really need them.

10. Discrimination is non-existent in Canada.

Discrimination is less likely to be an issue in Canada but it doesn’t mean it does not exist here. Let’s be honest, even Pinoys are very discriminatory towards their own. What more towards others?

11. Drugs are free in Canada.

I’ll just have no comment on this one for now. This will probably be on a separate post instead. There are things that if you’re not 100% sure about then they are better left unsaid. So, for those who make assumptions so much, try to avoid assuming sometimes. Dun tayo sa Mercury drug, gamot ay laging bago!